Blackstone looks to sell Park Ave Tower for more than $800M

Property hits the market after a handful of tenants signed pricey leases

65 East 55th Street and EQ Office CEO Lisa Picard (Credit: Park Avenue Tower and VTS)
65 East 55th Street and EQ Office CEO Lisa Picard (Credit: Park Avenue Tower and VTS)

After signing a handful of finance tenants to pricey leases, the Blackstone Group is looking to sell its Park Avenue Tower for more than $800 million – one of the largest trophy office properties to come to market this year.

Blackstone subsidiary EQ Office put the 622,000-square-foot office building at 65 East 55th Street on the market with a team of brokers at Eastdil Secured, sources told The Real Deal.

A representative for Blackstone could not be immediately reached for comment.

The company over the past five years has pumped $120 million into renovating the 36-story tower, which Equity Office purchased in 2014 for $750 million.

A source familiar with the property said Blackstone is aiming for a sales price “north of $800 million.”

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The property hits the market after Blackstone recently inked a string of high-rent deals to the tower. Global asset manager PineBridge Investments earlier this year signed a 15-year lease covering nearly 60,000 square feet in a relocation from 399 Park Avenue.

Financial services broker-dealer BTIG last summer inked a lease to relocate its trading floor from Third Avenue to 65,000 square feet in the building. And the $8 billion hedge fund ExodusPoint Capital last year expanded in the tower by almost 18,000 square feet to cover roughly 35,700 square feet.

Park Avenue Tower captured about 33 percent of the new Park Avenue leases north of $100 per square foot over the past year, according to marketing materials. The property has $635 million in contractual revenue in place.

EQ Office in March refinanced the property with a $570 million loan from Morgan Stanley.

An Eastdil team of Gary Phillips and Will Silverman is marketing the property. A representative for the brokers was not immediately available for comment.